Cleaning device



July 29, 1969 w. HIRT 3,457,574

CLEANING DEVICE Filed Dec. 12, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WALTER HIRT ATTORNEYS July 29, 1969 w. HIRT 3,457,574

CLEANING DEVICE Filed Dec. 12, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HlHllllliH Z INVENTOR WALTER HIRT ATTORNEYS United States Patent U.S. CI. 21 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cleaning device for cleaning articles such as marker posts on highways. The cleaning device is pivotally mounted on a supporting vehicle and is provided with rotary cylindrical brushes positioned adjacent to each other so as to define a cleaning zone therebetween. A means is provided to pivot the brushes between an operative and inoperative position. In this way the vehicle can be transported to the location of a marker which is to be cleaned, and at this location the rotary cylindrical brushes can be pivoted from their inoperative to their operative position so as to situate the marker in the cleaning zone.

The present invention relates in general to a device for cleaning marker posts on highways, and in particular to devices mounted on supporting vehicles, which are preferably self-propelled.

Marker posts on highways are usually cleaned by hand, using long-handled brushes, the brushes being fed with water from a tank vehicle through a flexible pipe. This method of cleaning takes time and is uneconomical, since the operator of the device has to leave the vehicle at each marker post.

On the other hand, cleaning devices are known which Patented July 29, 1969 FIG. 2 is a front view of the brushes, whereby the brushes are swung into a vertical position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the brushes according to FIGS. 1 and 2.

With reference to the figures, and in particular with reference to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the carrying vehicle 1 is provided with a supporting frame 2 having a supporting wheel 3. A drive portion 4 is mounted on the supporting frame in a manner allowing it to pivot about shaft 5 extending in the direction of travel of vehicle 1. Two rotating brushes 6 and 7 are mounted on the drive portion 4 with their axes arranged parallel with respect to each other. Brushes 6 and 7 are both mounted on shafts 21 which, in turn, are carried by drive portion 4. Between the two rotating brushes 6 and 7, a road or highway marker post 8 is arranged. The drive for the brushes 6 and 7 is obtained from the power take-off shaft 9 through a universally jointed shaft 10, a belt drive 11 and two bevel gear boxes 12 and 13 which are connected with rotating brushes 6 and 7 through universally jointed shafts 14 and 15. A spraying device 16 is fed from a pump 17 which is driven through a belt drive 18 from the shaft 7 which joins gear boxes 12 and 13.

are mounted on a vehicle, and which have a brush head which is moved downward from above over the post to be cleaned. The brush head has fixed brushes which are intended to clean the post during their downward and upward movement. This device is not well suited to varying shapes of marker posts. The working cycle for cleaning a marker post is quite long, since there is only relatively little movement between the brushes and the post, and the supporting device for the brush head is expensive in construction mainly on account of the speed which is required for moving the brushes.

It is therefore an object of the invention to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings by providing a device for cleaning marker posts which is simple and robust in construction, which can be operated without difliculty by only one person, and which permits a marker post to be cleaned effectively in a short period of time.

This object is achieved by providing a cleaning device having in general two rotating brushes with long and flexible bristles, their axes of rotation being preferably parallel and spaced apart at a distance corresponding substantially to the diameter of the brushes, and the axes of rotation being disposed on the supporting vehicle in order to be capable of pivotal movement in a vertical plane extending substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

In the following the invention will be more fully described with reference to the novel device and a preferred embodiment thereof and in view of the attached drawings, but it should be understood that many changes in details can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the device according to the invention, and particularly the brushes in operating position;

Cleaning device 16 may be provided with a liquid spraying device known per se which sprays the marker post to be cleaned with liquid before, during, and, it necessary, after the brushing cycle. The spraying device may be disposed either rigidly on the cleaning device, or it may also swing together with the rotating brushes.

Cleaning device 16 may preferably be constructed as a complete assembly which can be mounted on a multipurpose supporting vehicle replacing other street-servicing equipment. The drive for the rotating brushes is obtained from the power take-off shaft of the carrying vehicle as already described in detail. Equally well, the drive could be obtained from a small auxiliary engine independent from the power take-off shaft of the carrying vehicle.

Brushes 6 and 7 rotate in opposite directions, so that their bristles, which come into mutual engagement during the rotation, are able to engage each other in the manner of the teeth of a gearwheel without being broken. The axes of rotation of the two rotating brushes are disposed in the common driving and mounting portion 4 which is arranged to be pivotable about shaft 5 extending preferably in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The distance between the axes of the mutually parallel shafts 21 of the two rotating brushes can be arranged to be adjustable in drive portion 4, so that wear of the brushes can be allowed for, within limits, by reducing the separation between their axes. In this manner, full use can be made of the brushes throughout their life.

By appropriate selection of the dimensions of the device, a more convenient transport travel is achieved, since one can eliminate, in this way, components of the equipment which project laterally beyond the width of the carrying vehicle.

The device, when constructed as a complete unit, may have a supporting wheel, known per se, which absorbs part of the weight of the device and which permits adjustment of the height of its working position.

For this purpose vehicle 1 is brought to such a position that guide rod 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3) points at the marker post. Guide rod 20 can then be swung out of the way laterally or downwardly as shown in FIG. 2 so that it does not interfere with the pivotal movement of the rotating brushes which are moved from the upright inoperative poistion into the downward operative position. To remove guide rod 20 from the working range of the rotating brushes, known remote-control means such as a Bowden cable or the like, could be provided terminating at the drivers seat of the carrying vehicle, so that it may be operated by the driver of the cleaning device. Rod 20 may be disposed on the cleaning device so that it pivots downwardly or laterally. It could, however, equally well be guided so as to be displaced in the direction of its own length. For removal of guide rod 20 after positioning of the vehicle and before the working cycle of the rotating brushes, a known kinematic arrangement may be provided which automatically takes the guide rod clear of the path of brushes 6 and 7 as the pivotal movement of the rotating brushes commences. Lever or flexible control linkages could be used for this purpose.

FIG. 3 shows in detail the arrangement of brushes 6 and 7 and of marker post 8 in order to show more clearly the function of guide rod 20.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part of the specification.

What I claim is:

1. In an assembly for cleaning road markers and the like, a supporting vehicle, a cleaning device pivotally mounted on said vehicle and having rotary cylindrical brushes positioned adjacent to each other to define a cleaning zone therebetween, and means for pivoting said brushes between an operative position where a road marker is positioned between said cylindrical brushes and an inoperative position where said cylindrical brushes are disengaged from said road marker.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein drives are operatively connected to said rotary brushes for simultaneously rotating the latter in opposite directions.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said means for pivoting said brushes pivots the later about a horizontal axis.

4. In an assembly for cleaning road markers and the like, a supporting vehicle, a cleaning device pivotally mounted on said vehicle and having rotary cylindrical brushes positioned adjacent to each other to define a cleaning zone therebetween, means for pivoting said brushes between an operative and an inoperative position, wherein a liquid spray device is situated in the range of said brushes for directing liquid to said zone therebetween, and said means for pivoting said brushes also being operatively connected to said spray device for pivoting the latter together with said brushes.

5. In an assembly for cleaning road markers and the like, a supporting vehicle, a cleaning device pivotally mounted on said vehicle and having rotary cylindrical brushes positioned adjacent to each other to define a cleaning zone therebetween, means for pivoting said brushes between an operative and an inoperative position, wherein a drive is operatively connected to said brushes for rotating the same, and a power take-off shaft operatively connected to said drive for delivering power thereto.

6. In an assembly for cleaning road markers and the like, a supporting vehicle, a cleaning device pivotally mounted on said vehicle and having rotary cylindrical brushes positioned adjacent to each other to define a cleaning zone therebetween, means for pivoting said brushes between an operative and an inoperative position, wherein a guide rod is carried by the cleaning device for positioning the latter with respect to an article which is to be cleaned.

7. The combination of claim 6 and wherein said guide rod is pivotally connected to said supporting vehicle for swinging movement between an operative guiding position and an inoperative position out of the way of the cleaning operations.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,108,301 10/1963 Jones 15-77 3,099,852 8/ 1963 Grant.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,371,669 7/1964 France. 1,403,051 5/ 1965 France. 1,131,714 6/ 1962 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Roads and Streets Magazine, October 1961, pp. and 81.

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Prmary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 15-77 

